Why Shares of Masco Corporation Dropped Today

Is this meaningful or just another movement?

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of home improvement company Masco Corporation(NYSE:MAS) dropped as much as 11% today after reporting earnings. They recovered slightly and ended the day down 7.4%.

So what: Revenue was actually up 5% in the first quarter to $1.97 billion, no small feat in a down housing market. Net income also improved from $53 million a year ago to $74 million, and on an adjusted basis was $0.15 per share. The problem today was that analysts expected earnings of $0.17 per share.

Now what: Considering the bad news we've been hearing from the housing market over the past few weeks and the bad weather that hit much of the country in Q1 I think these were decent results. International sales also improved 12% from a year ago, so the company is diversifying exposure. Shares aren't cheap at 19 times this year's estimated earnings, but I think there's lots of upside in housing over the next few years and shares are cheap after today's drop.